Indian Hiawatha

Yesterday got rained out, so for me it became a day for reading and naps. Steve got his camper organized and checked his eyelids for leaks a couple of times through the day. As the saying goes, "flat is where it's at". Old guys take naps. I never understood that as a kid, but now that I am a card carrying member of the Flat Earth Society I nap daily same as my elderly brethren all over the world. Some of them call it "siesta" They have a zesta for siesta.

Anyway, I did get a pattern made for the delta trike wheels, so that's something productive. Today has been programmed for sunshine and blue sky in my corner of the world, so we are fired up and ready to go... chomping at the proverbial bit even with most of our teeth missing (gumming the bit)... in a few hours we'll be off like a herd of turtles! Out of the way, Slugs, we're on our way! Still alive; time to jive!

Was just now lying awake in the pre-dawn thinking about this tri-car and once more getting excited about it. One thing that has weighed down my enthusiasm some is the fact that this engine is pedal start. Made in Germany in 1934 (model 1932 Fitchel & Sachs 98cc 2 cycle motorcycle engine) there were originally two versions. One was pedal start and a less common kick start version. Pedaling a tri-car to start it for an old guy with Guillane Barre Syndrome (like polio) is not so appealing. In that respect the engine may not have been the best choice, but what a fine one it is for someone with legs that work. I figured that I'd push the rig to a hill and start it that way. It does have a de-compression valve with a thumb lever I rigged up for the handlebar, but you still have to pedal it without a handy hill or one going the wrong way.

Then I got to thinking about the bike's rear fender (from a 1939 Hiawatha) and the two holes near the bottom which were no doubt for the original drop stand catch. I have one of those squiggly bits of spring metal from a 1938 Elgin and could look around for a drop stand. That way I could lift the rear wheel off the ground and pedal it by hand... with that valve it might start pretty easily. Good idear!

And then I got to thinking about the keyed drop-stand catch Tinsmith made a couple of years ago for a heavy duty drop stand he welded up for his stretch Worksman cruiser. Perfect! That's the answer! I could even sit on the seat and pedal start it with the rear wheel off the ground, let the engine warm up, shift it into neutral, get off the bike and raise the drop stand, fit that clever keyed catch Tinsmith invented to hold the stand in the up position, climb aboard and ride off into the sunset singing cowboy songs punctuated with Indian whoops. Followed by a nap.

So, I feel better about the tri-car having a plan for sure fire starts without catching me pants on fire pedaling me way to a stroke.

I wonder how stable this ride will be? It will have a wide footprint (48" up front) with suspension and adjustable steering designed to incorporate the Ackerman principle. And I wonder how fast it would go safely on a well paved secondary highway, like the one I travel to get groceries in town. If I hugged the right side of my lane so that traffic could pass me maybe I could use it for trips to town. Would it go 45mph? The engine was designed for light motorcycles and has a built in two speed transmission.

And could I get it licensed as a motorcycle? It does have an internal coil which powered head and tail lights back in 1934. I could rig up a set of vintage looking headlights and have a rear fender light with license plate holder from an old Amerchi Harley Davidson. Maybe next summer I could get it legally licensed and insured. That would be neat. Yeah, I'm getting excited about this tri-car alright! What a cool tadpole... woohoo!

A good work day is coming up. I'll take some pictures for show n tell.
SB

http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=34874

Here's the little thread on Tinsmith's awesome keyed drop-stand catch ... another guy who's smarter than he looks... ha!
SB

Barely,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, particularly the cautionary note on sudden stops of the wrong kind. I'm not much of a dare devil in me old age and the thought of a semi blasting by driven by some guy on speed who is also on his smart phone texting his girl friend makes me think twice on the wisdom of highway travel. It will be enough to ride the road to the state park down the way... nicely paved and 30mph. More my speed at tops. Twenty is good.

No parades for the old bear. I stay out of town on the 4th of July, don't like a lot of noise or crowds, no thanks to marching bands. I'd rather fly a flag off my sidecar or trike, privately celebrating my homeland, still a good place in spite of the idiots running it. And the occasional tourist who wants to take a picture of the bike, old bear and wonder dog is fine with me. I like to share, just don't like crowds. Guess that's why I live in the forest. As a Maine-iac, I'm sure you understand.
SB

As promised I have a few photos from the early morning... stuck the two wheels on and am now seeing for the first time what the tri-car will look like. With nothing filling up all that real estate it looks really wide and it is... 48" wheel to wheel. Once there is a wicker seat and a pair of headlights I suspect it will look much different, however. Sure do like those tires. Steve is fitting up the steering and just broke a drill bit, but help is on the way with my brother who is already in town and will pick up two 5/16" bits at Ace. Will check in later when there is something to take pictures of...
SB

No problem finding something to do next summer. We still have the front seat on the tri-car, whatever is left on the delta hybrid trike project, finish up the clutch arrangement on the 1934 Elgin 3 speed and proceed on the "kindalikeawhizzer" build. Then there's still the Roadmaster/Tomos "Orphan" and by then we can start over because the first stuff will be getting rusty. Oh, and the sail rig for the pontoon cabin boat. Hope we live long enough.

Good work accomplished this morning. Here's a couple shots involving the tri-car. Steve has the steering pretty well done. I think we're also going to make brackets for headlights to each side of the front seat. The headlight pictured is a dune buggy light from Harbor Freight. It's a very good deal at about $12.00 per light. The bulb assemblies will be removed and replaced with the guts from a couple of the bigger Harbor Freight flashlights (6 volt)The lighting coil in the engine is 6 volts, so there should be plenty of juice. I think they'll look good.
We got rained out with a thunder storm, but it may clear after nap time. I made good progress on the hybrid delta trike wheel flanges... http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=47993&page=2
SB

Aha... the wheelchair! I was trying to figure out what Tinsmith was referring to having four wheels and wanting a motor. That is one of my dump finds, figuring there had to be some use for it... hated to see it go through a crusher. My brother laid claim to it wanting to turn it in to a folding canoe carrier. His plan for this conversion was to leave it with Steve to figure out how since it isn't wide enough as is. It has lower priority than the tri-car or delta trike, but will no doubt become a canoe transporter before Steve goes back to Canada in September.

The upcoming day is pretty much being wasted with a trip to Virginia, MN. some 30 miles away for my six month cardio checkup at the clinic. Hard to believe it was clear back in January that I had my heart attack. All is well, I'm sure. The trip will be salvaged by a stop at the tractor supply for tractor paint... yes, a color has been chosen for the hybrid delta trike, but it will remain a secret for the time being. We need a couple more flap discs and cutoff wheels... what else? I guess we'll have to wander around looking at all the great guy stuff. I need a wide marker for finishing up the wheel flanges and Steve wants a pair of jack stands, a metal oil pan and oil filter for his truck (we're leaving for our road trip to the east coast on Monday). Hmmm, what else?

Oh boy, just realized we'll be passing through Duluth Monday on our big road trip... right past Harbor Freight. Start making up a list for there including one more headlight for the tri-car. We also pass by Northern Tool..Steve will want to go in. Sigh.
This trip east may get off to a slow start. Off like a herd of old turtles.
SB

An update for the tri-car project...

A couple more pictures of the headlight to be used. On our trip to the east coast Monday we'll stop at Harbor Freight to pick up the second light. Making up the mounting brackets will have to wait until we're back in Minnesota.I think they're going to look great.

Also pictured are cable guides Steve made up and welded to the frame to deal with the disc brake cables. This will help keep things tidy and will also give me something to attach the headlight wiring to.

Last photo shows the brass Indian head badge.

SB

More for show and tell...

Photos show why I can't use a heavy duty rear drop stand. "Can't" is too strong a word, so "won't" is more appropriate. First, there just isn't room. The drop out would only allow a smallish attachment bolt. More critical is that the muffler and tail pipe are in the way of the drop stand. Least important is that it would interfere with the curving lines of the fender supports. I want to leave the flowing line alone.

So, I'll need to make do with a central stand. I made this one from an aluminum stand partially destroyed in a truck fire. One leg melted off and I repaired it with peg legs made from copper pipe and fittings. Looks nice and works, but it would not be wise to sit on the bike for a pedal start. So I'll see how it goes moving the pedal by hand. Perhaps sometime later I'll want to make up a heavy duty steel one to replace it so I won't get me white gloves dirty.

SB

Yet more for show and tell... "what I did on my summer vacation". When I was a kid we had to tell that on the first day of school. Hated to get up in front of everybody to say something. I spent my summers on Ojibwe Lake in northern Minnesota and there wasn't much to tell. My new classmates, white skinned farm kids in Iowa would look at me like I was from another planet. "I went fishing and picked a lot of blueberries. My mother smacked a bear on the butt with a broom. My brother punched me in the face so I peed in his tacklebox. Then he punched me some more so my mother spanked him on the butt with a pancake turner. We had blueberry pancakes and went swimming... umm, that's about it."

New fender sets arrived from Niagra cycle. I got two sets in 26", a pair of fronts for the tri-car. (And I'll use the rear ones on the American Deluxe hybrid delta trike.) I'll be making up fender supports like the ones on the red fender pictured. Curtis Fox sent me a pipe bender for smaller diameter conduit, so my hope is to make something up with that. I'll know how to do it by the time I'm done. The fenders have a little opening and a clip where they were meant to bolt to the front fork on a two wheeler. I think I'll drill out and remove the clip and cover the little slot with an original Hiawatha fender ornament. Over the course of the winter I'll watch ebay for a second one, always pricey, but for this it will be worth it. Pretty classy, I think.

Also there's a picture of the wheel with brake rotor and caliper mounted. That one's done, but the other one hit a glitch. "Son a b..... another danged glitch!" When I ordered the brake parts a front and rear mount wear sent. The rear one won't work, so we have to order another front one. It will be here for when we're back from the east coast. Not a big deal, just a bump in the road.

Also, we'll be staying over at Tinsmith's in Maryland for a couple of days before Steve goes on to Vermont. Dan and wife Jackie have invited us to share their home and Steve wants to hang out in the Tinsmith Shop while Dan makes up a cylindrical copper tool box for behind the seat on the tri-car. Oh boy...

I'll check back in next week, no doubt with some photos for show and tell taken in the Tinsmith Shop.
SB